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“Going up?”
The Doctor smiles behind his mask.
Operator Ch'en does not smile back.
8:59 AM
“Good morning, Doctor,” she tells him.
“Morning,” the Doctor responds. “Did you sleep well?”
“Not particularly,” says Ch'en, and she steps into the elevator.
The doors close. They are alone.
9:00 AM
“Is it because you’re nervous?” the Doctor asks.
Ch'en sighs. “I’m not nervous, Doctor.”
“Are you sure? You seem nervous,” says the Doctor, tilting his head. “I can see these things, you know! I can see it… with my mind’s eye?”
Ch'en scoffs. “Your mind’s eye?”
She pushes the elevator button in front of her. Top floor.
“My mind’s eye,” the Doctor corroborates, nodding sternly. “I can see that you’re nervous about being assigned as my assistant. I have to say, you shouldn’t believe the rumors!”
This time, Ch'en manages a chuckle. “The rumors, Doctor?”
“The rumors!” His hands are raised toward the roof of the humming elevator. “Some operators say that I’m too hard on them. It’s ridiculously untrue.”
“I don’t see it, personally,” says Ch'en, finger on her chin. “You don’t strike me as particularly bossy or heavy-handed. A little lazy, maybe? Maybe a bit too relaxed.” She pauses before adding, “if you were one of my guards or officers when I was still the L.G.D.’s special inspector, I probably would have had to discipline you repeatedly for your nonsense.”
A critical hit! The Doctor clutches his chest as the elevator rocks, and he groans with exaggeration, making a sound like he’s been shot through the heart. Ch'en raises an eyebrow and taps her foot impatiently on the elevator floor. There is no music. Only mechanical humming.
“How about you?” asks Ch'en. “How did you sleep?”
“A bit too long,” the Doctor says, rubbing the back of his neck through his shrouding coat. “Dr. Kal'tsit’s alarm woke me up. She’ll never let me oversleep.”
“Mm. Too much to get done, I can imagine.”
“Oh, definitely. Most definitely…”
A hushed silence falls between the two of them. The elevator doors should have opened by now, so why haven’t they?
“Is the elevator busted?” asks the Doctor.
Ch'en scoffs. “God, it better not be.” She pushes the button for the top floor again. The button remains lit up, as though the elevator was moving, albeit at a snail’s pace. She pushes the button again, a little harder this time. Nothing. No dice.
The Doctor—whose expression is utterly impossible to read unless you know him better than he knows himself—frowns behind his mask. A sense of dread creeps up on him. Something isn’t right. “Wait,” he tells Ch'en, “I don’t think that’s going to…”
Suddenly, a rumble. A clatter. A loud snap echoes through the air, startling the elevator’s only two occupants.
Ch'en jumps back in surprise, nearly knocking the Doctor to the ground. The elevator doors stay shut, and just like that… there’s nothing.
No movement. Neither ascension, nor descent.
They were stuck. Sealed right in.
Trapped.
Ch'en blinks once. Twice. She cracks a smile, then scoffs. “No,” she says. “I don’t believe it.”
“Did we just get stuck?” The Doctor asks.
“No,” says Ch'en, and she shakes her head as she tries to pry the elevator doors open. They don’t budge a single inch, even as she strains. Even as she huffs and puffs and pulls with all her might, the doors are closed, and they stay closed.
The inspector-turned-assistant blows a strand of hair from her face. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mutters. “What kind of elevator is this?”
“A normal one?” The Doctor chances a smile, but as usual, it’s not like Ch'en can see it. “Shit… I don’t know if Closure did something, or what.”
“Can you call her?” asks Ch'en.
“I left my phone and terminal in my office,” says the Doctor, frowning, shoulders sagging. “I’ve got nothing I can use for communication.”
“Are you serious?”
“As serious as a heart attack.”
Ch'en rolls her eyes, and she takes something out of her pocket. A cellphone!
“Oh,” the Doctor says, “thank God!”
“Or,” says Ch'en, “you can just thank me.”
She taps on the black screen once, and the cellphone wakes up.
“Please tell me you have reception,” says the Doctor.
“Okay,” says Ch'en, “I have reception.”
“Do you really?”
“Yes… but the phone is about to die.”
“It’s about to die?!”
“I sometimes forget to charge it because I’m so busy.” Ch'en sighs.
“C-Call someone!” The Doctor raises his hands nervously, even shaking them for emphasis. “Before it dies!”
Ch'en doesn’t have to be told twice. She taps a name in her contact list and puts the phone to her ear. The Doctor waits, slumped against the elevator wall behind him, patient as can be.
Finally, Ch'en speaks. “Hoshiguma? Are you there?”
The Doctor pumps his fist. Thank God—they got through immediately!
“Listen,” says Ch'en, “I don’t have time. Are you on Rhodes Island? I need you to—!”
Ch'en suddenly blanches. The Doctor feels like something truly awful has happened.
“Hoshi?” Ch'en bites her lip. “Hoshi? Are you there?”
She looks down at the phone. The screen had turned black. The phone had died.
“Oh, fuck!” The Doctor puts his hands against his mask, holding his head with exasperation. “Damn it all! We’re going to die!”
Ch'en scoffs. “Doctor, get a hold of yourself. We’re certainly not going to die.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m certain.”
“Oh, thank God!”
Ch'en pinches the bridge of her nose. “Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable…”
She returns the phone to her pocket and looks around. The elevator was far simpler than she would have hoped. Nothing happens when she pushes any of the numbered buttons—whether for the first floor, or the ultimate floor, or any floor in between. The lights stay on, but nobody’s home.
There is a red emergency switch, and Ch'en is quick to flip it. Unfortunately, nothing seems to happen. She flips the switch again and again, over and over, but still, the result is the same. To her shock and awe, even the emergency setting seems to be fruitless.
“This is officially the worst elevator I’ve ever been on,” says the Doctor.
“Ditto,” says Ch'en.
The Doctor wrung his hands together nervously. “I feel like I should apologize.”
“You didn’t know this was going to happen, did you?”
“Of course not, but I really should have had my phone on me. I just thought today would be one of those easy days, you know?”
“No, I don’t,” Ch'en curtly responds. “I don’t know what an easy day is. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those.”
“Aren’t you fortunate you work at Rhodes Island, then?”
“Well, at present? No, not particularly.”
“Ha. Well, I guess that’s a good point.”
The Doctor’s gaze sweeps to the elevator ceiling. He could see a closed hatch; a square partition that stood out from the rest of the sterile-looking metal. He reaches up to grab the hatch—to pry it from the roof of the elevator—but alas, he’s too short to reach the prospective exit.
As a matter of fact, so is Ch'en. The sealed hatch was out of reach for the both of them; the ceiling was too high above their heads.
“You mentioned Closure earlier,” says Ch'en, “didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” says the Doctor. “Closure is in charge of things like this.”
“Alright, thank you for letting me know,” says Ch'en. “I know who I’m throttling once I get out of here.”
“I suppose it could be worse,” the Doctor offers.
“True. I could be hungry, or sick, or I could hate you.”
The Doctor visibly brightens at that. “You don’t hate me?”
“I largely tolerate you, Doctor.”
The Doctor claps. “Hey, I’ll take it!”
Ch'en sighs just as a horrible feeling sinks in.
A feeling that she was going to be stuck in here for a long, long time.
10:00 AM
The Doctor, now sitting on the floor of the elevator, drums a beat on his knees. It’s a marching rhythm, and for some reason, it makes Ch'en think of Lungmen.
She remembers her time before coming to Rhodes Island. She remembers the nightmares before her encounter with Talulah. Before she left Lungmen to face off against her sister, alongside Amiya of all people—a young girl who, she felt, had too much responsibility on her shoulders. The poor thing.
And now here she was, stuck inside an elevator, on Rhodes Island—a moving landship that should have had a failsafe or two in place to prevent stupid things like this from happening. She could hardly believe her luck. This was the kind of thing that happened to cartoon characters or people in romantic comedies. This was not the kind of thing that happened to her. She was above and beyond this, wasn’t she? These nonsenses? Hadn’t she earned this much, at least? Hadn’t she worked far too hard for far too long?
“Doctor.”
The Doctor looks up. “Huh?”
“Should we try banging?”
Then, naturally, the Doctor does a double take. “Excuse me?”
“We could try banging,” Ch'en repeats, and she cocks her head toward the elevator door. Even so, it takes the Doctor five whole seconds before he realizes what she’s asking.
“Oh!” He slaps the forehead of his mask. “You mean banging on the door!”
“Of course,” Ch'en says, raising an eyebrow. “What did you think I meant?”
“I, um.” The Doctor stammers. “N-Nevermind…”
Ch'en sighs. “I know we just tried punching and kicking the door,” she says, “but I’m worried I might be out of options already.”
“We could try the hatch,” the Doctor suggests, pointing up.
“We can’t reach it, Doctor,” Ch'en reminds him.
“What if I stand on your back?”
Ch'en shakes her head with a knowing smile. “Or,” she offers, “what if I stand on yours?”
The Doctor hums appreciatively. It was worth a shot, after all.
Without saying another word, the Doctor of Rhodes Island gets on his hands and knees in the center of the elevator, showing off his back for Ch'en to step on. The Lung stands and carefully maneuvers to stand on his back, and although she feels dubious about this, she never mentions her hesitance.
“Careful,” says the Doctor.
“But of course,” she responds.
And just like that, she’s on his back—first in a crouch, and then she works up the courage to stand. Like this, it’s easy for Ch'en to reach the hatch and press her palms against the square partition, surprising herself with how easy this had been.
However, she can’t actually push the hatch.
“Fuck me,” she mutters.
“What?” The Doctor winces as he feels Ch'en’s boots against his spine. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t pry it open,” she says, her voice weary. “It needs a tool.”
“What?!”
“Ugh, Doctor, don’t make me repeat myself…!”
“Just—punch it or something!”
Ch'en tries to do exactly that. She makes a fist and pounds the partition, thinking she might knock it off its hinges, or perhaps even just knock it loose. Something! Anything!
Punching the partition doesn’t work. The hatch remains closed. Ch'en growls with frustration as she delivers blow after blow to the hatch above her head, wobbling on the Doctor’s back and digging her heels in to keep from falling. The Doctor makes a sound of pain as Ch'en steadies herself on top of him, and the two are more than a little surprised that not even percussive maintenance can get the door just above their heads open.
“God damn it,” the Doctor remarks. “Forget it, just… just get off of me already!”
Ch'en delivers one last punch to the partition before she winces herself and stumbles. “Gah!”
“Ch'en!”
THUNK!
Ch'en lands on her side next to the Doctor, who was still on his hands and knees and shocked that Ch'en just fell off him. The girl curses and growls like a terrible beast, glaring at the partition like she could will it open. If looks could kill, then Ch'en Hui-chieh was wielding a flamethrower.
“Fuck.”
The Doctor sits up. “You said it!”
“Sorry if that hurt.”
“Well, I’m sorry you fell!”
Ch'en sits up with a disgruntled sigh. She looks up at the ceiling, surprised and annoyed that she hadn’t even made a dent. If she had more leverage, somehow, or if the hatch was closer to the ground, then maybe…
Ch'en stands up suddenly and walks to the elevator doors. She strikes them, again and again, just like before, punching and prying like she’s got something to lose. The Doctor sits back and frowns as Ch'en puts in work, clenching her teeth and her muscles and slamming both her fists into the closed doors—first one, then the other.
“Do you think you can help me?” Ch'en asks.
“How can I help you?” asks the Doctor.
“Punch the door.”
“Ch'en, I’m nowhere near as strong as you!” The Doctor waves dismissively. “Just forget about it. I’m sure help is going to come sooner or later.”
“It’s been an hour already, hasn’t it?”
“I think so? I don’t have a watch, either.”
“But how come no one’s found us yet?” asks Ch'en. “I mean, surely we would have heard something from someone by now, right?”
“Someone must have hit the button by now,” the Doctor says. “Someone on the first floor, maybe. They’d notice the elevator wasn’t coming down… then they’d say something like, ‘Oh, is it stuck?’ And then maybe, just maybe, they’d go and find Closure, or someone else who can handle the elevator stuff, and…”
Ch'en walks to the other end of the elevator and presses her back to the wall before sliding down to the floor. She puts her face in her hands and shakes her head, groaning with a mixture of boredom, disbelief, and frustration.
“I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today,” she says.
“Come on, Ch'en. Look on the bright side!”
“What bright side?”
“…Well, shit, I don’t know! I was hoping you’d have one!”
Ch'en groans again. The feeling of listlessness returns, and there’s little more she can do except drum a beat against her knees, just as the Doctor had done. “Perfect,” she deadpans. “Just perfect.”
“Don’t you wish you hard your magic sword?” Ch'en raises an eyebrow as soon as the question leaves the Doctor’s lips.
“My ‘magic sword?’ You mean Chi Xiao?”
“Uh-huh. That’s what I said.”
“No,” says Ch'en, “no, it’s not what you said. You said magic sword.”
“It’s a magic sword!”
“No, it’s not a magic sword, Doctor! It’s Chi Xiao—call it what it is!”
“It’s a magic sword that you don’t have and that could have helped us get out of this situation!”
“How could Chi Xiao have helped us here? You’re suggesting I slice open the elevator doors?”
The Doctor pauses and hums. “Oh… that’s a good point.”
“What???”
“I was going to suggest that you use Chi Xiao to pry open the hatch above us.”
“Chi Xiao is a weapon that deserves respect,” says Ch'en, gawking. “I would never use Chi Xiao just to pry something open. That’s rude; it’s distasteful!”
“Oh, come on,” says the Doctor, “you’re telling me you’ve never used Chi Xiao to open a jar of pickles? Or maybe to get the remote out from under the couch? You’ve ever used it even once as a back scratcher?”
“No, no, and no!” Ch'en seems mortified. “Why would I—you know what, I’m not engaging with this.”
“Why? What did I do?”
“No,” says Ch'en, “I’m—I refuse to engage with this any further. The point, Doctor, is that I don’t have Chi Xiao with me. I don’t think I would ever use that blade again—unless it was life or death we were talking about. Honestly, it’s bad enough I raised that sword against Talulah…”
Ch'en sighed, looking wistful all of a sudden. “No, Doctor,” she tells him. “The next time I raise that sword… it’ll be to take someone else’s life. Or to protect—!”
“Sheesh,” says the Doctor, “so dramatic!”
Ch'en blinks with surprise. “Huh?”
The Doctor chuckles. “If you’re not gonna use Chi Xiao, then let me use it!”
“What? No! Absolutely not! I would never in a million years let you use Chi Xiao!”
“Why not?” the Doctor asks.
“Because… because I said so! Because you wouldn’t treat the weapon with respect!” Ch'en groans. “What would you even use Chi Xiao for?”
“For rescuing people stuck in elevators, first of all,” says the Doctor.
“So for something asinine, then.”
“This doesn’t seem very asinine to me!” The Doctor spreads out his arms, sounding more flustered than he had before. “This is a pretty big deal!”
“No,” says Ch'en. “No, no, no!”
“I would also use the magic sword to scratch my back,” the Doctor admits, and Ch'en glares at him.
“All the more reason to make sure you never get to touch Chi Xiao,” she tells him. “Doctor, just be quiet, please. Stop talking about Chi Xiao, stop talking about ‘magic swords,’ and stop talking like we’re going to be here forever. I’d like for at least one of us to keep a cool head.”
The Doctor knocks his head against the elevator wall behind him. “Maybe,” he offers, “we should take a nap? Fast-forward time like that?”
“What,” says Ch'en, “you don’t have some device or gizmo that would make it a cinch to teleport out of here?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the Doctor says, raising his hands, “I must have left Fast Travel in my other pants!”
“You’re annoying, Doctor.”
“I’m not annoying! You don’t mean that!”
“I do,” says Ch'en. “Either you talk too much, or you say the most ridiculous things, or both. I think if we were back in Lungmen, I would have thrown you out of a window by now.”
The Doctor smirks. “Really? Does Lungmen have glass elevators?”
Ch'en groans. It’s going to be a long day.
11:00 AM
Two hours after entering the elevator, and both Ch'en and the Doctor were still trapped inside. They’d tried yelling, screaming, knocking against the door and walls…
It was all for naught. They were forgotten somehow, someway.
Ch'en was lying on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Her boredom was paramount, and she had half a mind just to stare until the lights burned a hole through her skull and seared her brain like a steak.
Which is why it was a pity they weren’t actually that bright.
She shot a glance to the Doctor, who was sitting up against the wall and mumbling under his breath. It was a curious sight and a curious sound, and Ch'en narrows her eyes as she tries to focus on just what the man was saying.
“…eight o’clock, meeting with Lee’s Detective Agency…”
“…ten o’clock, meeting with Folinic in the Convalescence Garden…”
“…noon, lunch with Amiya…”
And the Doctor rambles on like that for a good, long while. It inspires Ch'en to tilt her head in wonder, and just a minute later, the Doctor finds her curious gaze on him.
“Are you eavesdropping?” he asks her.
Ch'en raises her hands and drops them onto her knees. “Do I really have a choice in the matter, Doctor?” Then the Doctor laughs, inspiring irritation in the Lung woman.
“That’s a good point,” he tells her. “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you.”
“Naturally,” she tells him.
“I’m just working out tomorrow’s schedule in my head,” he tells her. “Being stuck here is already throwing a wrench in some things. I need to reorganize myself as best I can, you know?”
“Do you not keep a digital itinerary?”
“Sometimes—but more often than not, I keep track of all my meetings in my head.”
Ch'en quirks an eyebrow. “That seems… inefficient.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The mind can play tricks on you, Doctor. You could forget things.”
“Nah.”
“What the hell do you mean nah?”
“I’m built different,” says the Doctor.
“You are absolutely not built different. You’re fallible just like everyone else.” Ch'en crosses her arms and frowns. “Even Amiya forgets things sometimes, and she’s the company CEO, as I understand it. Of course, I’m not blaming her. It’s a heavy burden for someone like her to take.”
Now it was the Doctor’s turn to quirk a brow. “Someone like her?”
“A teenager.”
“She’s not just a teenager, Ch'en.”
“Of course she’s not just a teenager, I’m just saying.” Ch'en waves the thought off. “The point is, if I were you, I would get a planner. The Rhodes Island gift shop even sells them for five LMD. They’re well worth the investment if you want to keep yourself sane.”
“Oh,” says the Doctor, “I’ve got my pots for that.”
“Your pots?” Ch'en asks.
“My sanity pots. My sanity potions.”
“What the hell is that.” It doesn’t even sound like a question when it leaves Ch'en’s lips. “Sanity potion? What potion?”
“The sanity kind,” says the Doctor.
“I don’t—I don’t know what that is.” She shakes her head, because she thinks he’s joking. “Are you talking about coffee or tea?”
The Doctor shakes his head and chuckles. “Oh, no,” he tells her. “Definitely not coffee or tea. It’s better. It’s the good shit.”
“The good shit,” she echoes. “Wow. Alright.”
“Only Kal'tsit and I really drink them,” the Doctor explains. “For everyone else, they’re… unsafe. Maybe even a little toxic.”
“So it’s medication?” Ch'en asks stupidly.
“No—it’s a potion.”
“How is it made?”
“That’s classified.”
“You really won’t tell me?”
The Doctor rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “The process,” he says, “is something you’d actually not want to know about. Trust me—I’m keeping you sane by not telling you how a sanity potion is made!”
Ch'en sighs. “Fine,” she says, resigned, “be that way.”
“Sorry, Ch'en.”
“It’s whatever. I’m not in the mood for any of this.”
She scoots away from him and scowls, feeling stupid for feeling so upset about something as asinine as a sanity “potion.”
Though she won’t say it out loud, she’s glad the Doctor is here. She’d be twice as bored if she was alone, at the very least. The trade off was that the Doctor had certain eccentricities. His manner of speech was sometimes vexing… and he was, all in all, a pretty weird guy.
Even now, the Doctor is just sitting there. Watching her. She doesn’t know where his eyes are searching, exactly; the mask does a good job of, well, masking just where his gaze is. Even so, she knows he’s looking right at her. He’s not exactly being subtle about it.
“What are you staring at?” she asks him.
“You,” he says brazenly. Ch'en rolls her eyes.
“I got that much,” she says. “I mean, why are you staring?”
“Well,” says the Doctor, “what else am I going to stare at? This room’s pretty barren, in case you didn’t know!”
Ch'en sighs again. “I’m not comfortable being stared at.”
“You don’t want to, like, play 20 Questions or something?”
“I do not want to play 20 Questions, Doctor.”
“You sure? I’d even let you go first!”
“I’ll pass.”
“Okay—if you pass, then it’s my turn.”
“I-I’m not playing the damn game!!”
The Doctor scoots back. “Sheesh. Chill out!”
“Chill out?” Ch'en grumbles. “I can’t chill out when I’m stuck in an elevator on a ship that really should have contingencies in place for something like this! I’ve never been stuck in an elevator before—”
“Until now,” says the Doctor.
“—until now,” Ch'en says, “but it should be pretty easy to keep this stuff from happening! It’s fucking nonsense!”
“I’ll definitely have a talk with Closure as soon as I get out of here.”
“Assuming I don’t have a talk with her first,” says Ch'en, cracking her knuckles.
“Maybe let’s not resort to violence right away,” says the Doctor. “Closure does a lot of good for Rhodes Island. She’s not as mischievous as you think she is!”
“So now you’re going to defend her? After this?” Ch'en asks. “You’ll change your tune when we get stuck in here for at least another hour.”
The Doctor winces. “You think we’ll be in here for another hour?”
12:00 PM
“Well, fuck.”
“What?” Ch'en asks.
“I feel like an hour has passed.”
“Has it?”
“I really feel like it has.”
“I’m already losing my sense of time,” Ch'en admits, sighing aloud. “I’m so reliant on technology these days…”
“Well, you and everyone else. Don’t blame yourself, you know?”
“I don’t even have my watch with me,” she says. “This is ridiculous… I can’t believe I screwed up this bad.”
“I just said not to blame yourself!”
“Well, when you’ve been doing it all your life, it’s pretty fucking easy, Doctor.”
He goes quiet at that, bringing up his knees with a quiet frown—one that Ch'en is so sure he’s got on his face, even if she can’t see it. It makes her groan with frustration before she pulls up her own knees and hugs them in her sitting position.
“Fine,” she says.
“Fine, what?”
“Let’s play 20 Questions, I guess.”
The Doctor perks up at that. “Really?!”
“Yes, Doctor. Come on—don’t make me regret my choice.”
“Yes!! Okay!!” He claps once. “Who is going first?”
“You can think of something,” Ch'en says, “and I’ll try to guess it.”
“Okay—I’ve got it,” the Doctor says.
“Already?”
“Already!”
“Okay…” Ch'en frowns, then thinks about her first question. “Question one… is it an animal?”
“No,” says the Doctor.
“Question two… is it food?”
“Definitely not,” says the Doctor.
“Is it a—”
“You forgot to say the question number.”
Ch'en rolls her eyes. “Question three… is it a person?”
“Yes.”
“Question four… is the person in this room?”
The Doctor chuckles. “No.”
“Yeah, that would have been too easy,” Ch'en says. “Alright, then. Question five… is this person on Rhodes Island right now?”
“No,” says the Doctor. “But I wish.”
“You wish?” Ch'en hums in thought. “So it’s a woman, then.”
“Is it?”
“Most definitely a woman.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Call it a hunch.”
The Doctor laughs again. “I can’t confirm or deny that.”
“Question six… is it a woman?”
A pause. “Yes.”
Ch'en smirks.
“Unfair question,” says the Doctor.
“No, it’s not.”
“Uh-huh.”
“No.”
“Totally is.”
“Question seven… is this an older woman, or a younger woman?”
“…compared to whom?”
“Compared to you, Doctor.”
“Do you even know how old I am?”
A pause. “Aren’t you, what, thirty-five, or something?”
The Doctor gasps. “Thirty-five?!”
“I’m being very generous with my guess. You’re probably in your forties,” she notes. “Being a medical doctor—a neurologist, no less—that takes decades of experience, doesn’t it? At least ten years of medical school, then another ten for residency? I don’t know,” she admits. “I never knew too many doctors before coming to Rhodes Island… unless you count the L.G.D.’s medical staff, which, I guess, you would. Not that I ever got to know their names.”
“Thirty-fucking-five!!” The Doctor shouts. “FORTY!”
“Stop yelling.” Ch'en scowls. “Am I right?”
“I’m eighteen years old,” says the Doctor.
“Get the fuck out of here.”
“Well, now, I wish I could!”
“You’re not eighteen, Doctor,” Ch'en says matter-of-factly.
“I’m eighteen in spirit.”
“That’s—no, I’m not entertaining this.”
“You’re no fun!”
“Just—I’m moving onto the next question if you’re going to be uncooperative.”
“I don’t know how old she is, alright? It’s not like I could ask! That’s rude, isn’t it? You never ask a woman her age, you never ask a man his salary, and you never ask slumbrrr what his most popular story is.”
“What? Who?”
The Doctor waves it off. “We’ll say she’s on the older side and leave it at that.”
Ch'en rolls her eyes. “Question, um…”
“Eight,” says the Doctor.
“Question eight… do I know this person?”
“Yes.”
“Question nine… are they a friend of mine?”
“Yeah.”
“Question ten… do they live in Lungmen?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Ch'en smiles. “Question eleven… does she have a horn?”
“Yes!”
“Then I know who it is, and I’m ready to answer.”
“Shoot.”
“It’s Hoshiguma.”
“No.”
Ch'en’s jaw drops. “What do you mean no?”
“I mean no!” The Doctor laughs. “So you lose!”
“What—who—what?” Ch'en is so confused that the Doctor can’t help but laugh a little louder this time.
“Do you want the answer?” the Doctor asks.
“Of course I do.”
“It’s Miss Fumizuki!”
“Miss Fumizuki?!” Ch'en’s eyes go wide with surprise. “What the hell? Why are you thinking about her of all people?”
“Is that your twelfth question?” The Doctor is grinning behind his mask, and Ch'en can just hear it in his tone. It’s frustrating, but somehow, it’s less frustrating than usual. His glee might have been contagious if she wasn’t so flustered about this loss.
“I can’t believe you were thinking about Wei Fumizuki…” Ch'en shakes her head slowly, feeling a strange sense of shame. “I was so sure you were thinking of Hoshiguma…”
“Well, remember—Hoshiguma is on Rhodes Island! Fumizuki isn’t!”
“Honestly, I thought you were making another joke about how we’re still stuck in here,” says Ch'en. “Otherwise, if Hoshiguma was here, we would have been freed by now.”
“Not everything I say is a joke, Ch'en!”
She could only begrudgingly agree with that.
“Fine,” she admits. “It’s your win, Doctor. Well done.”
“Thank you, thank you~”
“Should I go next?”
“That’s how the game goes, after all.”
“Alright.” Ch'en pauses for a moment, then nods. “Okay,” she tells him, “I have it.”
“Question one,” says the Doctor, “is it a person?”
“Yes,” says Ch'en.
“I’ve got my answer.”
For the second time in just two minutes, the Doctor watches as Ch'en’s jaw practically hits the elevator floor. “Doctor, no,” she tells him. “No, you don’t have the answer. You literally just asked me one question. The maximum is twenty,” she adds. “You—there’s no way you…”
“You’re thinking of Talulah,” says the Doctor, “aren’t you?”
Ch'en bristles at that, then bites her lip. The Doctor doesn’t have to ask if he’s right, because he knows that he’s right, and Ch'en knows he knows.
“You think about her a lot,” says the Doctor. “Don’t you?”
“Wouldn’t you?” Ch'en snaps back.
“I do,” the Doctor admits.
“Well, then.”
“But there’s nothing wrong with thinking about her,” says the Doctor. “Just in case you were, you know… expressing some reservations about that.”
Ch'en sighs. “I shouldn’t have chosen her as my topic. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“If I could hazard a guess,” says the Doctor, “it could be that you want to talk about her.”
“I do not want to talk about Talulah, Doctor.”
The man tilts his head. “Not even a little?”
Ch'en goes quiet. She hugs her knees with a concerned frown, slowly shaking her head. Her countenance is one of uncertainty; of fear and doubt. “Like I said, Doctor… I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have chosen Lin, or Beatrix.”
“You care about all of them,” says the Doctor.
“Of course.”
“But you care about Talulah most of all,” he says. “Am I right?”
“…I care about her,” says Ch'en. “But more than Beatrix? More than Lin? I don’t know if I would say that, exactly. It’s a different kind of care. A different kind of…”
“Different kind of what?”
“Never mind…”
“Hey—if you wanna talk about it, we can talk about it.”
“No thanks,” says Ch'en. “I really shouldn’t.”
“But Ch'en…”
“I said no, Doctor,” Ch'en snaps.
“Alright, alright.”
“It’s your turn, anyway,” Ch'en says, resigned. “So… go ahead.”
“I’ve got it,” says the Doctor. “I have my topic.”
Ch'en shifts beneath the Doctor’s gaze. “Question one,” she says, “is it a person?”
“Yes.”
“Question two… is it a woman?”
“A very important woman, yes.”
Ch'en sighs. “Doctor, please.”
“What?”
“Is it Talulah again? Your topic?”
“Would you be mad at me if it was?”
Ch'en says nothing this time. She simply stares at the elevator floor, pensive, shuddering slightly even though she’s not particularly cold. She’s so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t even notice when the Doctor stands up and sits right next to her. Ch'en tenses up when she feels the Doctor’s presence just beside her, his shoulder against her own…
…but it doesn’t take long for her to ease up, and she doesn’t shy away when the Doctor puts his gloved hand on her thigh.
“Ch'en,” he tells her, “Talulah is going to be just fine. You’ll see her again—I promise.”
Ch'en scoffs. “You can’t promise me something like that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t know. You can’t possibly know what’s going to happen to her, or to me, or to us. You might be one of Rhodes Island’s greatest tacticians,” she said, “but you’re not omniscient.”
“I know.”
“So don’t make promises like that, Doctor. Because if you can’t keep them…”
“I’ll bear the responsibility.”
“God, will you just—?” Ch'en shakes her head again, this time scowling. “You can’t just say things like that, Doctor. That’s not how any of this works. It’s… it’s too complicated for you to do what you always do.”
“What I always do?” The Doctor blinks behind his mask. “What do you mean?”
“You can’t simplify something like this. You can’t just look at a screen and form a plan and think that everything’s going to be okay. It’s not that simple.”
“I never said it was!”
“Well,” says Ch'en, “I want you to give Talulah Artorius a lot more credit, then. She’s… she was… hardheaded; stubborn, sometimes even stupid. But now she’s gone.”
“It’s alright,” says the Doctor. “We’ll find her.”
“Sometimes,” says Ch'en, “I wonder if we even should.”
She lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. Her shoulders relax. She hardly realizes she’s been venting.
“I don’t even know what I’m going to say to her if I see her again…”
The Doctor pats Ch'en’s leg, his mood reassuring.
“Well,” says the Doctor, “you had better start thinking about it.”
Ch'en looks over like she can meet his gaze through his mask. “For if I see her again?”
“No,” says the Doctor, “for when you see her again.” Then he adds, “I bet she misses you.”
Ch'en says nothing at first. She feels dubious about the entire thing, and the Doctor can see it written all over her face.
“I wonder if she’ll ever come to Rhodes Island,” she muses.
“Operator Talulah? Heh, I can see it.”
“God, I can’t even imagine!” Ch'en chuckles softly at the thought of it—Talulah in a Rhodes Island uniform! She would insist, perhaps, on being a guard. Maybe a front line caster…
“Do you think anyone would want to get along with her?” Ch'en asks.
“It might take a long time,” the Doctor admits, “but I think eventually, she’d even make friends here. You have to consider that quite a lot of people on Rhodes Island, now more than ever, were never a part of the Lungmen-Chernobog crisis. We’ve recruited people from all walks of life… and while not everyone gets along, we are unified or at least partnered for the benefit of others, not just ourselves.”
Ch'en nodded. “I see…”
“Think about the situation with W, for example. God, when we recruited her— officially, I mean—not everyone was happy about it. Adnachiel definitely wasn’t happy about it!”
“Right, right… since W was Reunion.”
“W was—and is—a lot of things.”
“I’m surprised you still trust her,” Ch'en admits.
“W? Oh, I trust W more than you think.”
“Really?”
“I trust W more than fucking Closure at this point.”
That gets a laugh out of Ch'en, and the Doctor smiles brightly at the sound. “Well, shit, now I trust W more than Closure, too. Good going, Closure.”
“I know how W thinks and how she works. What she likes and what she doesn’t like. She’s just as easy to handle as Amiya.”
“That’s… wow. I never would have guessed. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Oh?”
“I think if anyone would be able to get ahold of W, it would be you, Doctor.”
“Don’t give me too much credit, Ch'en. After all, I’m not omniscient—like you said.”
“But you can handle pretty much anyone, can’t you?”
“I can’t handle Kal'tsit sometimes,” the Doctor admits. “Sometimes, I’ve got no idea what that woman is thinking. She hates me one minute and likes me the next.”
“Does it bother you?”
“It did… at first. I understand why she’s, you know, like that. A lot’s changed since when we met.”
“Does she hate you?” Ch'en asks.
“No. And I don’t hate her, either.”
“So you like her.”
“Eh… Kal'tsit?” The Doctor chuckles nervously. “I like her about as much as W. Beyond work, I wouldn’t exactly itch to play 20 Questions with them.”
“Maybe what you need is to be trapped in an elevator with them!”
“Oh my God, no.”
“Just bring a watch.”
“I’d bring a gun.”
Ch'en laughs again, brightening up.
“And if the gun only had one bullet…”
“You’d shoot yourself?” Ch'en guesses.
“I’d put Kal'tsit and W’s heads together before firing.”
“Wow, Doctor. That’s dark.”
“You think so? I think W would love that joke!”
“I don’t think Kal'tsit would.”
“Yeah, but Kal'tsit doesn’t like ninety percent of the things I say!”
“I can’t imagine why…”
“But just to put a cap on the Talulah Talk,” says the Doctor, “I want to say that I mean what I say. That everything is going to work out in the end. It’s going to be just fine, Ch'en. Alright?”
“There you go again,” she says, “making a promise you can’t keep.”
“I guess I’m just built different!”
“I guess you are…”
“And even if Talulah doesn’t want to join Rhodes Island… I bet you she’s thought about it at least once since we last saw her.”
Ch'en nods slowly. “If at least to see me, or you, or Kal'tsit, I bet.”
“Or Amiya,” the Doctor adds. “And, let’s not forget, she was here on Rhodes Island for a little while. In the brig, sure, but…”
For some reason, that makes Ch'en laugh the loudest. The Doctor watches curiously, wondering what could have caused such a loud and sudden chuckle.
“God,” says Ch'en, “that reminds me…”
“Hm? What’s up?”
“It reminds me of how many times Talulah got in trouble when we were kids. She was always a troublemaker, you know. I remember that much, at least…”
Ch'en sniffles at the memory. The Doctor rubs her leg, and it’s a welcome gesture.
“…so, even if the circumstances were grim… a part of me thinks it’s amusing, at least, that her first visit to Rhodes Island put her behind bars. Rhodes Island jail.”
“That is a little funny,” the Doctor admits.
“It’s like, ‘Welcome to Rhodes Island, sister. Now go directly to jail.’ I don’t know, maybe it’s stupid, but it’s… the kind of joke we might have made as little girls. She was kind of funny, I guess. And stupid.”
“I’m glad you still have fond memories of her, honestly.”
Ch'en sighs. “Yeah,” she says, “me too…”
“I know she’s thought about you in the same way,” says the Doctor.
“You’re not omniscient, Doctor.”
“Is that going to be our inside joke now?”
“Mm. Could be.”
“A part of me wants to be there when you and Talulah have your next conversation. A fly on the wall, at least! But maybe it should stay private. You two certainly deserve the space to clear the air and say what’s on your mind.”
Ch'en glances up suddenly, like she’s been struck by a concerning thought. The Doctor watches her intently; he can practically hear the gears turning in her head.
Finally, she groans. “God damn it.”
“What?” The Doctor asks. “What’s wrong?”
“I just realized something,” Ch'en says.
“Which is?”
“If Talulah ever comes back to Rhodes Island—for business of any kind—you two would get along so well.”
The Doctor can’t help but be surprised at that. “What makes you say that?”
“You’re both… similar.”
“Really? I’m a hot girl?”
Ch'en whips around and glares at the Doctor, nostrils flaring. “What did you just say?”
The Doctor raises his hands in a defensive, placating gesture. “I-I mean, hot as in temperature! Like fire! Not hot as in sexy! I mean—that’s not—I’m not saying she’s ugly, either! I wouldn’t say that! But I wouldn’t say that because she’s attractive, I just mean—!”
“Ugh, shut up already! I get it!” Ch'en rubs her temples. “She used to do the same thing—put her foot in her mouth. Say the dumbest things at the worst possible times.”
“Sorry,” the Doctor says, wincing.
“Operator Talulah,” Ch'en muses. “God help me, I’d have to deal with the both of you in the same room at least once. I would rather… get stuck in an elevator.”
“Wish granted!”
“Yeah, yeah… whatever, Doctor…”
She tries—and fails—to hide her smile.
1:00 PM
Ignoring any concerns about cleanliness, Ch'en once again finds solace lying on the floor of the elevator.
The coolness of the tiles beneath her body provides a much-needed respite from the chaos of her mind; the swirl of her thoughts. With her eyes closed, she tries to relax herself. To just sink in it; to escape the weight of her responsibilities and the constant demands of her job, the tribulations of the world; how far she’d come.
She was always thinking back. Always ruminating. Always nostalgic.
Swire had told her it was one of her weaknesses.
Perhaps the bitch cat was right.
The rhythmic hum of the elevator's machinery becomes a soothing lullaby, easing her into a state of tranquility. In this unconventional sanctuary, Ch'en finds a temporary escape, a moment of peace amidst the hustle and bustle of her daily life. And then…
“Do you play video games?”
…and then the Doctor speaks.
“No,” Ch'en says. “Should I?”
“Well, they’re a nice way to unwind! Video games are fun. They can be rewarding…” He trails off. “Have you never played a video game?”
“Of course I’ve played a video game,” says Ch'en.
“What have you played?”
“I don’t remember what it’s called.”
“Describe it to me!”
“You build your own city and you have to manage everything about it,” says Ch'en. “The money, the buildings, even the taxes. It was pretty in-depth.”
“Ooh—a city simulator!”
“Yeah,” says Ch'en, smirking. “But sometimes, whenever I got fed up… you could summon natural disasters to, you know, ruin everyone’s lives. So that was pretty fun.”
“You monster!”
“Oh, I’m just the absolute worst.” Ch'en stretches along the ground and groans, and the Doctor tries not to stare as the Lung woman’s shirt rides up and exposes her toned midriff. “Floods, meteors, earthquakes, you name it. It was all under my command!”
“Cold-blooded!”
“I guess so,” Ch'en adds, chuckling. “What about you, Doctor? You definitely strike me as a video game player.”
“Do I? What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know. You’re weird, I guess.”
“Hey, I resent that! Do you think all gamers are weird?”
“Um… no, I guess I don’t? I guess that would be my opinion a few years ago. I’d wonder why anyone would play a game when they could just relax in a way that’s more productive, like reading, or writing, or fishing…” She trails off before sternly shaking her head. “But that’s not the kind of opinion I’d have anymore. I just have a hunch you’re a gamer.”
“I game a little,” the Doctor whispers.
“You game a lot, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Kal'tsit gets mad at you for it, doesn’t she?”
“M-Maybe!” Even through his shrouding coat and mask, the Doctor seems and sounds flustered beyond measure. Although Ch'en doesn’t say it, she thinks it’s adorable.
“Are you a hardcore gamer?” Ch'en presses.
“I’m more of a softcore kind of guy.”
“Wow. How am I supposed to respond to that?”
“Keep up, assistant!”
“Ah, that’s right… I am your assistant this week.” The way she words it, it definitely sounds like she almost completely forgot. “What were you going to have me do? Play a video game?”
“I was going to have you do the most boring paperwork imaginable while I played video games,” the Doctor corrected.
“Gee, thanks, ‘boss.’”
“Don’t worry—if you beat me one-on-one, then I’d let you avoid the paperwork.”
Ch'en sat up and raised an eyebrow. “Me? Against you? One-on-one?”
“I meant in a video game!” The Doctor added quickly. “Not a real fight!”
“Ah.”
“If it was an actual fight, you’d fucking destroy me!”
Ch'en grins. “I’m glad you acknowledged that. What game would we play?”
“Maybe a fighting game? Or we could even do one of your city builders. Whoever made the most successful city would win!”
“And then Kal'tsit would bust us, and you’d have to explain this brilliant plan to her.”
“Totally worth it—to see you happy.”
Ch'en quirks a brow. “To see me happy?”
“Yeah!”
“You’d risk getting in trouble with Kal'tsit for that?”
“To see you happy? Of course!”
It takes Ch'en a moment to think of a response. “You’re crazy, Doctor.”
“Only a little!” Then it was the Doctor’s turn to sit up. “So, if we survive this elevator ‘ride’ without eating each other, would you want to play video games sometime?”
Ch'en chuckles. “Sure, Doctor. That sounds good to me.”
“I have to say, I’m so glad to see you smiling and laughing right now.”
“Is that right?”
“You seemed like you were in a bad mood this morning.”
Ch'en slowly nods. “Well, I was,” she admits.
“Let me guess… it wasn’t just because you didn’t sleep well, right?”
Ch'en can’t help but frown as she nods this time. “It wasn’t just that,” she confirms.
“Can I ask why you were so upset?”
“It’s stupid.”
“Emotions sometimes are.”
“I mean, it’s not even for any serious reason. It’s a stupid reason. It’s probably not even worth troubling you about, Doctor.”
To Ch'en’s surprise, the Doctor comes up to her and sits down closer, staring at her through that enigmatic mask of his.
“It’s bothering you,” he says, “so it’s important to me, and it is worth mentioning.”
Ch'en bites her lip. Her cheeks turn red before she has any hope of stopping them, and she fidgets beneath the Doctor’s scrutiny.
Finally, she comes out with it.
“Do you promise you won’t laugh?” she asks.
“I promise,” says the Doctor.
“It’s about Hoshiguma,” says Ch'en.
“Okay.”
“And Beatrix,” Ch'en adds.
“Her too?”
“…and Lin.” Ch'en sighs.
“All three of them?” The Doctor perks up. “What’s wrong?”
“They all have dates this weekend.”
The Doctor tilts his head in the other direction. For a moment, Ch'en thinks she can hear a tick-tick-ticking in his skull, or perhaps the measurement of sand collapsing in its hourglass. His blank silence indicates he really expected nothing like this.
“Oh,” he finally says.
“Yeah,” says Ch'en, sighing. “I told you it’s stupid.”
“And you’re upset because you don’t have a date?” the Doctor asks.
“More like… I can’t imagine anyone would ever want to date me. That’s the thought I started having. It’s stupid, Doctor. It’s practically drama. I don’t want to bother you with this. We just talked about Talulah; I’d rather talk about her again than this.”
“But this is what’s bothering you, isn’t it?”
“W-Well—!”
“And if it’s bothering you,” says the Doctor, “then I want to help you. I’m always here for you, Ch'en. No matter what.”
“You’re just saying that because I’m your assistant this week,” Ch'en reasons.
“Not at all. Whether or not you’re my assistant, I’m always available to hear what you have to say. I’m not saying I’m a psychologist, you know, but… yeah, you mean a lot to me.”
“Do I?”
“Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? You’re one of the most composed, important people I’ve ever met.”
“Now that seems like a stretch.”
“Why don’t you at least humor me, then?”
Ch'en fidgets again. “It’s just… I can see Hoshiguma getting a date, no problem. She’s handsome, strong, reliable…”
“Uh huh…?”
“And Beatrix Schwire? She’s cute, savvy, and rich. She’s a bossy bitch, but anyone can see that she can probably get any guy or girl she likes—no problem.”
“I guess so!”
“Yeah. And then there’s Lin. She’s level-headed, headstrong, and… honestly? She’s beautiful. Elegant. She’s gifted… in more ways than one.”
The Doctor slowly nodded. “I see…”
“And then there’s me.” Ch'en smiled sadly.
“You’ve got nothing good to say about yourself?”
Ch'en grumbles. “I can’t even remember the last time I had a date. God, it’s been years. I wasn’t even the Special Inspector when I last had a date. As soon as I was promoted to Inspector, my love life took a goddamned nosedive.”
The Doctor frowns. “I see…”
“So,” says Ch'en, “I guess I got pissy when I heard about it. Made me feel like shit, that’s all. Jealousy is unbecoming, but…”
“…but emotions are stupid,” the Doctor adds.
“Heh. That they are, Doctor. That they are…”
“You haven’t been asked out in years?”
“No,” says Ch'en. “Not once.”
“Not once?!” That shocks the Doctor more than anything else. “I can’t believe that!”
“Well, you should believe it, Doctor. Beatrix told me it’s because of my aura. That I’m unapproachable.”
“Unapproachable?”
“That I’ve got resting bitch face, or whatever. People are just intimidated when they see me—whether they’re a man or a woman. And Hoshiguma thinks it’s because everyone assumes I already have a partner, so they don’t even try to hit on me. It’s…”
Ch'en sighs.
“…it’s stupid. Forget I said anything. There are more important things to worry about, after all.”
“Important? Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t bothering you. Morale is one of the most important things we like to focus on, here on Rhodes Island. Don’t you remember?”
“But there’s nothing Rhodes Island can do about my love life,” Ch'en says bitterly. “Not unless some genius around here makes me a love potion, or something like that…”
“You don’t need a love potion,” the Doctor reasons. “Who wouldn’t want to date you? Only a crazy person wouldn’t want to date you!”
“You’re just saying that, Doctor!”
“No, I’m not!”
“Then you must be calling everyone crazy, because like I said—no one even tries. Even if I wear perfume, or do my nails, or try to smile…” Ch'en trails off, sighing. “Nothing. Heh, maybe they can smell how desperate I am, right?”
The Doctor shakes his head. “If I sound like I’m calling everyone crazy, then maybe I am! You’re seriously a catch, Ch'en.”
She scoffs. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s true!”
“On what grounds?”
“On what—!” The Doctor stands up with a sudden zeal—one that surprises Ch'en into sitting upright herself. “Are you kidding? You’re seriously the best!”
Ch'en blinks. “What are you…”
“You’re so cool! And you’re so strong! You… you look amazing!”
Ch'en’s mouth falls open. “D-Doctor?”
“I mean, really! You said that Hoshiguma was handsome, and that Swire was cute, and that Lin was beautiful? Ch'en, to be honest… you outclass all of them by a whole mile!”
The Lung woman says nothing, instead staring wide-eyed at the Doctor like he’d grown a second head. Even so, he doesn’t stop rambling.
“You’re handsome! You carry yourself with purpose, and you look amazing in suits and dresses! No matter what outfit you’re supposed to wear for any operation, you always knock it out of the park and OWN IT! You make everything look stunning, and you really take charge of the room! You make everyone’s jaw drop; everyone should be jealous!
“But you’re cute, too! The way you laugh is cute! The way you smile is cute! Even the way that your eyes just light up whenever you talk about your interests is super cute! And, honestly? I have to say, even the way you pout and shake your head is freaking adorable, okay? I know you’re trying to be serious, I get that, but I can’t help but get a little anxious whenever you say and do these things, because I can hardly believe how charming you can be with what, to me, seems like so little effort! You’re effortless with it!
“And that’s not all! You’d better believe that you’re goddamned beautiful, too! Yeah, that’s right! The way you walk, the way you talk… you’re super attractive! From your hair, down to her cheeks—th-the ones on your face, I mean!—and your jawline, your slender shoulders… I-I guess that makes it sound like I stare a lot, and maybe I do sometimes, but it’s only because you really are super beautiful, Ch'en! Honestly, sometimes, when you’re in a squad, I have to try really hard to still give orders and not stare at you while you’re on my screen!”
Ch'en clenches her teeth. “Doctor…”
“You’re super handsome, super cute, and super beautiful!”
“D-Doctor…!”
“That’s why I think everyone else must be crazy! You’re one of the best things to ever happen to Rhodes Island! Your strength is immense! Your battlefield endurance is like nothing else! Your tactical acumen is on par with mine, for goodness’ sake! Why do you think I had to fight against Kal'tsit so hard to get you as my assistant—just for a week?! It’s because you’re… you’re… THE SHIT!”
“DOCTOR!”
The Doctor flinches when Ch'en yells him down, and he finally notices that poor Ch'en is blushing so intensely that she’s as red as a tomato. He takes a worried step back when Ch'en takes a flustered step forward. And then another. And then another…
…until finally, the Doctor’s back is up against the wall, and Ch'en slams her hand against the wall beside his head, effectively trapping the poor Doctor between a hard steel wall, and Ch'en’s own steely gaze.
The Doctor gulps. “Uh… did I say something wrong? Cause, you know, I get that a lot. So, I’m just saying, if you’re mad at me, and if you want to hit me, I might say that you’d have to get in line, because I think there’s quite a few operators who want to take a swing at—!”
Ch'en raises her fist and brings it up to the Doctor’s face. The man flinches, and that’s when Chen outright swipes the mask from his face and presses her chapped lips against his own smooth ones.
The Doctor’s eyes go wide as Ch'en keeps him pinned there, caught between her body and the wall behind him, and she kisses him so sternly it’s like she’s got something to prove.
Just like always—something to prove.
The kiss ends before the Doctor can even realize what’s really happening here. Even so, Ch'en pulls away with a flustered expression and a deep red blush on her cheeks.
“God,” she whispers, “can you please just shut up, Doctor?”
The Doctor gulps. His lips quiver, and his eyes stay as wide as dinner plates. “Um,” he says.
“No,” Ch'en interrupts—more sternly this time. “Shut up. Stop, mm, talking…”
Her lips melt against his own. It’s another kiss—one even longer and hotter than the one before it—but neither is willing to budge in the heat of the moment. The Doctor finds his hands suddenly on Ch'en’s hips, and Ch'en keeps the Doctor pressed up against the wall as she realizes, perhaps a bit too late, that she’s a horrible kisser. That she hasn’t done this in far, far too long.
Perhaps frustratingly, the Doctor is very, very fucking good at this. Ch'en pulls away from the kiss with a knowing smirk, and she doesn’t realize her tail is wagging until it thumps against the elevator wall.
“U-Um.” The Doctor stammers. “Holy fuck?”
“Yeah.” Ch'en giggles. “Fuck… what the hell did I just do?”
“I think you just kissed me.”
“I think you’re right, Doctor.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Because I like you?” She scoffs. “I thought that was obvious. You’re the smartest man I know, but you’re still a bit clueless, aren’t you?”
“For the record, I get that a lot, too.”
“I’m sure.”
“You’re not very good at kissing, by the way.”
“There you go again, putting your foot in your mouth. Don’t make me…”
“…make you what, Ch'en?” The Doctor squeezes her hips and switches their positions, and Ch'en leans up against the elevator wall as she pulls the Doctor into another long and intimate smooch.
How funny, Ch'en thinks. The elevator walls used to feel so cold…
She’s more than happy to warm up like this, however. As she locks lips with the Doctor of Rhodes Island—the most frustrating, most vexing, most caring, and most attractive man she’s ever met—she can’t help but feel thankful to Closure all of a sudden. Maybe she wouldn’t throttle that damned vampire after all.
The Doctor pulls away from this kiss with a gentle laugh, his eyes alight with passion and curiosity. “Already a better kiss than the last one,” the Doctor says. “You learn fast…”
“Did you have any doubt?” asks Ch'en.
“Not at all. Can I have my mask back?”
“Of course not. I’m not finished with you yet…”
“Hey, I’m embarrassed! You might as well steal my boxers!”
Ch'en grins. “Really now?”
“Uh, I mean—!” The Doctor tries to steady his breathing. “Damn it, now I hope that we never get saved in here.”
“Let’s not get crazy, now…”
“Ch'en.” The Doctor raises his hand. “The mask, please?”
“You want it, Doctor?” Ch'en holds it away, unable to wipe the smile from her face. “Why don’t you try to take it from me?”
2:00 PM
There’s a sharp creak and an even louder groan as the elevator whirs back to life. The lights flicker for a moment, and Ch'en thinks that a welcome darkness might befall them before she can feel the floor beneath her feet rumble. The elevator is moving again!
“Fucking finally,” she mutters, blowing a strand of hair from her face.
The Doctor sighs. “I’ll say.”
The elevator doors open with a soft chime as they reach the very top floor, allowing a rush of fresh air to fill the cabin. Straightaway, they can see Dr. Kal'tsit, Closure, and Amiya standing just beyond the space of their now open cabin, with Kal'tsit looking nonplussed, Closure looking anxious, and Amiya looking panicked beyond belief.
“Oh, my goodness! Doctor!” Amiya practically leaps into the cabin and wraps her arms around the Doctor’s body, squeezing him tighter than any boa constrictor ever could. “I’m so happy that you’re okay, Doctor! And you too, miss Ch'en! I’m so, so sorry about the elevator!”
“It’s good to see you, Amiya,” says Ch'en. “And you too, Dr. Kal'tsit. Closure, though?”
The vampire Sarkaz gulps. “Ahahaha… sorry about that, Miss Ch'en. I swear it was an accident. These new recruits think they know their way around an electrical panel, and I keep telling Kal'tsit that we’re hiring way too many new operators, and—!”
“Thanks you,” says Ch'en.
“No problem,” says Closure. “Fixing my disciples’ mistakes is what I—”
“No,” says Ch'en, walking out of the elevator and putting her hand on Closure’s shoulder. “Thank you for taking as long as you did. I think I really needed that.”
Closure does a double take, blinking in surprise. “Eh? You’re thanking me for… being slow?”
Ch'en smiles knowingly in the Doctor’s direction. She blushes as she runs a hand through her disheveled, azure hair. “I’ll be waiting for you at your office, Doctor,” she says. “I’ll get us some iced coffee—and maybe some other things—from the Rhodes Island gift shop. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
As Ch'en dips past Closure, a smile dances across her face and she walks down the hall with a buoyant energy, the air filled with the rhythm of her footsteps. Closure watches her leave with wide-eyed shock, while Kal'tsit can only cross her arms and stare at the Doctor, watching as the man adjusts his mask with a confident chuckle.
“Doctor!” Amiya cries, “you must be starving!”
“Oh,” says the Doctor, “I guess I am, in a sense…”
“Alright, hey, no, that’s enough!” Closure makes a big X with her arms across her chest. “I don’t even wanna know, alright?”
“Huh?” Amiya blinks as she looks between the adults in the room. “What do you mean?”
“Closure,” Kal'tsit says simply, “take Amiya to the electrical panel connected to this elevator, will you? I’d like her to stay keenly aware of it from this point forward, lest we have another situation like this.”
“Yes ma’am!” Closure takes Amiya’s hand in her own before walking off, down the hall, and away from both doctors. “Let’s go, Amiya.”
“Huh? W-Wait, I want to talk to the Doctor! Why am I being treated like a kid? Miss Closure, wait!”
And then they were gone.
The Doctor stands in front of Kal'tsit with his hands behind his back. “So,” he says, and she can practically hear the grin behind his mask, “guess who’s never taking the stairs ever again?”
“Oh, be quiet, Doctor.” Kal'tsit blows a strand of green hair from her face, and she thinks she’s successful in hiding her embarrassment from the man in front of her. “I’ll have no details about what happened here.”
“Then you won’t get any!” The Doctor struts out of the elevator, feeling like a winner. “Uh, but I’m very behind schedule, aren’t I?”
“Oh, absolutely. I imagine it’s going to take a few days just to play catch up, believe it or not. Such is the price of this particular consequence. If it’s any consolation, I know this wasn’t your fault, and I won’t hold it against you. However, I will ask that you refrain from taking this elevator going forward, and I would advise you to work extra hard in the coming days in order to maintain our quota and ensure that we return to the right track; that we enter the next quarter on the proper footing. Moreover, I think it’s best that we reduce your daily nap times. I’ll collaborate with Folinic on drafting a proper itinerary for you, given these changed circumstances. No need to thank me.”
“Ch'en and I did a lot of making out,” the Doctor says.
Kal'tsit’s eyes narrow as she glares intensely. “I said I didn’t want details.”
If the Doctor had a tail, oh, it would absolutely be shaking with delight right about now.